A Deployable Hexagonal Reflectarray Antenna for Space Applications

Abstract

In this paper, a novel deployable reflectarray aperture for CubeSats is introduced. The proposed aperture achieved an aperture efficiency, $\boldsymbol{\eta}_{a}$, of 78%. When compared to the traditional rectangular aperture, the proposed aperture increases the $\boldsymbol{\eta}_{a}$ by 8% while maintaining equivalent packing efficiency. The results of this study were obtained analytically. The proposed aperture can be used to increase the efficiency of space communications systems while providing optimal packing efficiency.